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slavicreader's review against another edition
4.0
This was much more to my liking than the previous installment. Both sucked me in though - the immersion was there - but this had the story formula I prefer. I was warned that this could be similar to the third book and would obviously feature a lot more of a certain character (hint, hint, title), so I had certain expectations going into it. However, I didn't find it that similar to the third book, nor did I think we saw an awful ton of the said character. Yeah, more than usually, but in a way, it was still the same old.
If the 8th book is truly the last in Karigan's story, then this is closer to the end than before. In terms of setting up for the finale, I did pick up on a few hints of this. Nothing massive, but it is starting to feel wearier. The characters have gone through a lot by now, and whilst I love a protagonist who suffers, I do wish Karigan could tap out now. Poor Karigan. Really hoping she gets the ending she deserves!
I'm still highly enjoying how each sequel adds further worldbuilding development alongside the story arcs. In terms of length though, it did feel a tad long for what it was. Personally I don't mind that too much, but it's not something that should necessarily be happening the closer we near the end, if the extra pages aren't going to add a ton of content. Does that make sense? I'm writing this in a rush, so maybe not.
If I had to pick a fault within the series, it would not be the page count at all. There are some slightly problematic, erm, relations? That could be seen as being portrayed in a light that's romanticising the situation. Thus far I've only been there for it because it resulted in some juicy drama, but now I'm left wondering how it will become resolved. If you've read the series, you'll know which elephant in the room I'm poking at here.
Anyway. I both dread and look forward to Winterlight, then to the big wait till the finale is released!
If the 8th book is truly the last in Karigan's story, then this is closer to the end than before. In terms of setting up for the finale, I did pick up on a few hints of this. Nothing massive, but it is starting to feel wearier. The characters have gone through a lot by now, and whilst I love a protagonist who suffers, I do wish Karigan could tap out now. Poor Karigan. Really hoping she gets the ending she deserves!
I'm still highly enjoying how each sequel adds further worldbuilding development alongside the story arcs. In terms of length though, it did feel a tad long for what it was. Personally I don't mind that too much, but it's not something that should necessarily be happening the closer we near the end, if the extra pages aren't going to add a ton of content. Does that make sense? I'm writing this in a rush, so maybe not.
If I had to pick a fault within the series, it would not be the page count at all. There are some slightly problematic, erm, relations? That could be seen as being portrayed in a light that's romanticising the situation. Thus far I've only been there for it because it resulted in some juicy drama, but now I'm left wondering how it will become resolved. If you've read the series, you'll know which elephant in the room I'm poking at here.
Anyway. I both dread and look forward to Winterlight, then to the big wait till the finale is released!
sdgarrett's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
book_nerd4ever's review against another edition
5.0
Good Read.....but I had mixed feelings
I still give this a five star rating. This book just like the last five books in the series was a page-turner. I stayed up until 1AM trying to finish this story at one point, it was that good.
***Spoilers*****
The mixed feelings I had was ugh.... this is the sixth book in the series and I felt there was no connection from the 4th book to the 6th one. I really enjoyed Mirror Sight...it allowed us to have a what if story line. This book kept me engaged don't get me wrong but the overall story didn't progress the story line of the overall series. And I hate the Zachary/Karigan love story! He's married with children on the way! Enough is enough...I was really hoping we would see Karigan heal from her heartbreak over Cade. I was intrigued with the idea of her Enver but if course Britian had to ruin that too.
I look forward to the next book, but I want to see progress with the overall story.
I still give this a five star rating. This book just like the last five books in the series was a page-turner. I stayed up until 1AM trying to finish this story at one point, it was that good.
***Spoilers*****
The mixed feelings I had was ugh.... this is the sixth book in the series and I felt there was no connection from the 4th book to the 6th one. I really enjoyed Mirror Sight...it allowed us to have a what if story line. This book kept me engaged don't get me wrong but the overall story didn't progress the story line of the overall series. And I hate the Zachary/Karigan love story! He's married with children on the way! Enough is enough...I was really hoping we would see Karigan heal from her heartbreak over Cade. I was intrigued with the idea of her Enver but if course Britian had to ruin that too.
I look forward to the next book, but I want to see progress with the overall story.
silentquercus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Blood, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Slavery
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Slavery, Death, Torture, Death of parent, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
ahuizotl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alpettit's review against another edition
4.0
I was hesitant to continue the series after Mirrorsight, but this one redeemed it for me. It started out slow but finished strong. I got to see the humanity in Karigan and Zachary. There was triumph and there was loss. And you get the sense that there are still some surprises to come. I enjoyed it.
bloggingwithdragons's review against another edition
3.0
After the disappointment that was Mirror Sight, I was relieved to move onto Firebrand, which I remembered as being a pretty solid entry in the Green Rider series. Thank goodness, that my memory did not prove wrong in this case, and I found that Firebrand was a much more enjoyable read than the last few entries in the series. Despite being somewhat of a mixed bag, I found that characters were less flat, that author Kristen Britain made an attempt at dialing down her rampant “telling” method of writing, and that there was even some poetic justice in some storylines. However, as usual, I struggled with the romantic aspect of the plot and the threads of the story that dealt with the events of Mirror Sight.
"Estral sat cross-legged on her blankets. 'Are you going to be all right?'
'Sometimes, I guess,' Karigan replied. 'And I guess sometimes not.'
Estral stared at her. 'I think that is one of the most honest statements you have ever made.'"
I was thrilled that in Firebrand, characters finally had actual, direct interactions! Estral and Karigan had banter, fights, and time spent together! We weren’t just told that the two chatted about school life and then went to bed—finally! It was like there was an actual relationship between the two characters, and like Estral had a personality beyond having a musical talent. Beside enjoying Estral’s newly found personality, I was also overjoyed to read from Zachary’s perspective. His thoughts were conflicted and complex, and I think it really helped to get a better look inside the psyche of the King that Karigan and the rest of the Riders risk their lives for. Plus, it was great getting him away from the ever-meddling Captain Mapstone, and seeing him being able to act more of how he wished. I also loved the addition of Ana, a servant who wishes to become a Green Rider without the magical calling. I am anxious to see how she does in her new role in future installments.
Besides the much-needed improvement of fleshing out characters, I felt like Britain finally made some efforts to cut back on some of the unrestrained “telling.” She finally managed to use side characters to overhear things or to witness things or actual conversations between characters instead of giving us a quick shopping list-esque rundown of events. This “telling” is not altogether gone, unfortunately, but it is an essential step in the right direction.
Despite these upgrades, Firebrand still struggles to move the major plots of the series forward. For instance, the wall is still not fixed, and the biggest thing that happens there is that gryphons are discovered that can serve as guards for the deteriorating wall. This seemed more like filler than anything else, as does Karigan’s trek to find the moose centaurs, known as p'ehdrosians, and to ally with them against Mornhavon the Black and Amberhill. Meanwhile, Amberhill, the villainous empire of the future we were all tortured with in Mirror Sight, is nowhere to be seen. While this is a blessing because I really can’t stand the character that will become host to Mornhavon the Black and another ancient evil, it just goes to show that even huge plot points are absent from the novel in favor of what feels like busy work for Karigan.
"She tried to remember. When she'd returned from the future, she'd attempted to tell the king and captain everything she could before her memory failed completely. Fortunately the captain had made a transcript. Karigan had written down her recollections as well. It must have made sense at the time, but a certain amount was garbled nonsense, and trying to understand it was like trying to apply logic to a strange dream."
Though honestly, the poor girl could use some busy work. Karigan is still reeling from her return to the present from the dystopian future city, and mourning the loss of Cade Harlowe, her paramour from there. Though I hated Cade, it was nice to see that his loss did somewhat realistically have an effect on Karigan, as so many other losses are merely swept under the rug. Poor Yates and Raven barely get a second thought from Karigan. However, I specifically state that the loss only had a “somewhat realistic” effect on Karigan, because Firebrand cannot seem to make up its mind what Karigan can remember of her time in the future. Though she constantly grieves over the loss of Cade, many times when someone asks her of her time in the future she can’t even remember the events or the people she was with! The constant discrepancies from Karigan not being able to remember anything at all, not even from her own notes, from what happened during her time in the future to sobbing about the loss of Cade gave me vertigo. I was relieved when she was sent on a mission to find the stupid moose centaurs, as the girl desperately needed to focus on something other than on her own pain and conflicted feelings for King Zachary.
But the two end up meeting as captives of the Second Empire, and not as King and servant, which is honestly one of the best things the series has ever done. On more equal footing, Karigan and Zachary finally manage to have actual conversations and interactions! This was practically miracle enough, but then they even manage to share actual feelings and kisses—thank god! I really couldn’t take the mutual pining and uncertainty anymore. But I also found it odd how Karigan could barely function at the beginning of the novel due to her grief over Cade, and then suddenly admitted her suppressed feelings of years to Zachary. Maybe it was just a confession born from the convenience of not having Captain Mapstone breathing down their necks, their shared experience of torture at the hands of the Second Empire, or the fact that they were far from home, but Karigan’s feelings were enough to give me whiplash.
"She shouldn't have let it happen....How would it play out, she wondered, when they were back home, out of the wilderness and away from battle, and sharing the same roof as Estora? Estora did not deserve this. It should not have happened, and could not happen again. yet, every time she tried to prevent her feelings from Zachary from growing, they only deepened"
Despite my relief that this relationship between Zachary and Karigan finally moved forward, and hopefully put her feelings for the loathsome Cade to rest at last, I have a feeling that their romance won’t get too far in future entries of the series. I fear (and dread) that Karigan will feel guilt over Estora, and will try to backpedal her romance with Zachary. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took the death of Estora in childbirth or something similar for Karigan to finally accept their mutual feelings. I sure hope I’m wrong.
Another thing that confused me in Firebrand, other than Karigan’s flip flopping feelings and memories of the future, was that the novel suddenly threw in out of nowhere that Green Riders could not conceive children while answering the Rider Call. Um, what? Karigan was practically declared pregnant at the end of Mirror Sight, so was she not answering the Rider Call in the future when she found a new Rider Horse, battled the new embodiment of Mornhavon the Black, and sought a way to return home to report her findings to her King? That sounds like a Green Rider to me, so I don’t understand how she managed to get pregnant, or almost pregnant (blame the Eletians, not me), to Cade.
"Did they not know Green Riders could not conceive while they heard the call?"
This is another instance where the series cannot seem to remain consistent. Plus, how random was this information that Riders can’t conceive? Firebrand is the 6th book in the series, and it’s never once been mentioned before. It seems it would’ve been somewhat relevant to bring up when Karigan was sworn in as a Rider, or when discussing Captain Mapstone’s advanced age and her adopted daughter, but not a word of it is ever uttered. I wonder if the reason this fact was thrown out there has something to do with the fact that Karigan’s baby was somehow magically given to Estora to bear or to imply that Karigan will be able to have an affair with Zachary without the threat of conception. I really don’t know.
I’m also filled with a bit of trepidation now that the series has lost its main villain in the present, Grandmother, the leader of the Second Empire. Grandmother is by far the best villain the series has had to offer so far, more chilling and capable than all of the other villains combined, and I am worried that the series will lose a lot of its forward momentum without her as the driving force behind the Second Empire. This is even though she really didn’t do a lot in Firebrand other than opening a tomb for some extremely vague nefarious reasons. I also worry that this early loss of Grandmother means that Amberhill will become the main villain, and I am not sure I am ready to put up with that character, who has felt extraneous almost the entirety of the series, again.
All in all, though not much happened in the way of the main storyline in Firebrand I found it the most enjoyable read of the series since probably First Rider’s Call or at least the original, Green Rider. I was relieved that Britain finally gave some of her recurring characters, like Estral and Zachary, some much needed development and that she managed to back off a bit of her “telling” driven writing. I am hoping that future entries in the series will follow this trend as well and excited to see where the story will take Karigan.
For my reread and most recent reviews of the series --
"Estral sat cross-legged on her blankets. 'Are you going to be all right?'
'Sometimes, I guess,' Karigan replied. 'And I guess sometimes not.'
Estral stared at her. 'I think that is one of the most honest statements you have ever made.'"
I was thrilled that in Firebrand, characters finally had actual, direct interactions! Estral and Karigan had banter, fights, and time spent together! We weren’t just told that the two chatted about school life and then went to bed—finally! It was like there was an actual relationship between the two characters, and like Estral had a personality beyond having a musical talent. Beside enjoying Estral’s newly found personality, I was also overjoyed to read from Zachary’s perspective. His thoughts were conflicted and complex, and I think it really helped to get a better look inside the psyche of the King that Karigan and the rest of the Riders risk their lives for. Plus, it was great getting him away from the ever-meddling Captain Mapstone, and seeing him being able to act more of how he wished. I also loved the addition of Ana, a servant who wishes to become a Green Rider without the magical calling. I am anxious to see how she does in her new role in future installments.
Besides the much-needed improvement of fleshing out characters, I felt like Britain finally made some efforts to cut back on some of the unrestrained “telling.” She finally managed to use side characters to overhear things or to witness things or actual conversations between characters instead of giving us a quick shopping list-esque rundown of events. This “telling” is not altogether gone, unfortunately, but it is an essential step in the right direction.
Despite these upgrades, Firebrand still struggles to move the major plots of the series forward. For instance, the wall is still not fixed, and the biggest thing that happens there is that gryphons are discovered that can serve as guards for the deteriorating wall. This seemed more like filler than anything else, as does Karigan’s trek to find the moose centaurs, known as p'ehdrosians, and to ally with them against Mornhavon the Black and Amberhill. Meanwhile, Amberhill, the villainous empire of the future we were all tortured with in Mirror Sight, is nowhere to be seen. While this is a blessing because I really can’t stand the character that will become host to Mornhavon the Black and another ancient evil, it just goes to show that even huge plot points are absent from the novel in favor of what feels like busy work for Karigan.
"She tried to remember. When she'd returned from the future, she'd attempted to tell the king and captain everything she could before her memory failed completely. Fortunately the captain had made a transcript. Karigan had written down her recollections as well. It must have made sense at the time, but a certain amount was garbled nonsense, and trying to understand it was like trying to apply logic to a strange dream."
Though honestly, the poor girl could use some busy work. Karigan is still reeling from her return to the present from the dystopian future city, and mourning the loss of Cade Harlowe, her paramour from there. Though I hated Cade, it was nice to see that his loss did somewhat realistically have an effect on Karigan, as so many other losses are merely swept under the rug. Poor Yates and Raven barely get a second thought from Karigan. However, I specifically state that the loss only had a “somewhat realistic” effect on Karigan, because Firebrand cannot seem to make up its mind what Karigan can remember of her time in the future. Though she constantly grieves over the loss of Cade, many times when someone asks her of her time in the future she can’t even remember the events or the people she was with! The constant discrepancies from Karigan not being able to remember anything at all, not even from her own notes, from what happened during her time in the future to sobbing about the loss of Cade gave me vertigo. I was relieved when she was sent on a mission to find the stupid moose centaurs, as the girl desperately needed to focus on something other than on her own pain and conflicted feelings for King Zachary.
But the two end up meeting as captives of the Second Empire, and not as King and servant, which is honestly one of the best things the series has ever done. On more equal footing, Karigan and Zachary finally manage to have actual conversations and interactions! This was practically miracle enough, but then they even manage to share actual feelings and kisses—thank god! I really couldn’t take the mutual pining and uncertainty anymore. But I also found it odd how Karigan could barely function at the beginning of the novel due to her grief over Cade, and then suddenly admitted her suppressed feelings of years to Zachary. Maybe it was just a confession born from the convenience of not having Captain Mapstone breathing down their necks, their shared experience of torture at the hands of the Second Empire, or the fact that they were far from home, but Karigan’s feelings were enough to give me whiplash.
"She shouldn't have let it happen....How would it play out, she wondered, when they were back home, out of the wilderness and away from battle, and sharing the same roof as Estora? Estora did not deserve this. It should not have happened, and could not happen again. yet, every time she tried to prevent her feelings from Zachary from growing, they only deepened"
Despite my relief that this relationship between Zachary and Karigan finally moved forward, and hopefully put her feelings for the loathsome Cade to rest at last, I have a feeling that their romance won’t get too far in future entries of the series. I fear (and dread) that Karigan will feel guilt over Estora, and will try to backpedal her romance with Zachary. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took the death of Estora in childbirth or something similar for Karigan to finally accept their mutual feelings. I sure hope I’m wrong.
Another thing that confused me in Firebrand, other than Karigan’s flip flopping feelings and memories of the future, was that the novel suddenly threw in out of nowhere that Green Riders could not conceive children while answering the Rider Call. Um, what? Karigan was practically declared pregnant at the end of Mirror Sight, so was she not answering the Rider Call in the future when she found a new Rider Horse, battled the new embodiment of Mornhavon the Black, and sought a way to return home to report her findings to her King? That sounds like a Green Rider to me, so I don’t understand how she managed to get pregnant, or almost pregnant (blame the Eletians, not me), to Cade.
"Did they not know Green Riders could not conceive while they heard the call?"
This is another instance where the series cannot seem to remain consistent. Plus, how random was this information that Riders can’t conceive? Firebrand is the 6th book in the series, and it’s never once been mentioned before. It seems it would’ve been somewhat relevant to bring up when Karigan was sworn in as a Rider, or when discussing Captain Mapstone’s advanced age and her adopted daughter, but not a word of it is ever uttered. I wonder if the reason this fact was thrown out there has something to do with the fact that Karigan’s baby was somehow magically given to Estora to bear or to imply that Karigan will be able to have an affair with Zachary without the threat of conception. I really don’t know.
I’m also filled with a bit of trepidation now that the series has lost its main villain in the present, Grandmother, the leader of the Second Empire. Grandmother is by far the best villain the series has had to offer so far, more chilling and capable than all of the other villains combined, and I am worried that the series will lose a lot of its forward momentum without her as the driving force behind the Second Empire. This is even though she really didn’t do a lot in Firebrand other than opening a tomb for some extremely vague nefarious reasons. I also worry that this early loss of Grandmother means that Amberhill will become the main villain, and I am not sure I am ready to put up with that character, who has felt extraneous almost the entirety of the series, again.
All in all, though not much happened in the way of the main storyline in Firebrand I found it the most enjoyable read of the series since probably First Rider’s Call or at least the original, Green Rider. I was relieved that Britain finally gave some of her recurring characters, like Estral and Zachary, some much needed development and that she managed to back off a bit of her “telling” driven writing. I am hoping that future entries in the series will follow this trend as well and excited to see where the story will take Karigan.
For my reread and most recent reviews of the series --
- Mirror Sight, click here.
- Blackveil, click here.
- The High King's Tomb, click here.
- First Rider's Call, click here.
Original review for Firebrand below:
I felt like I was the only Green Rider fan who wasn’t crazy about this book. This book made me question whether I, and not the book, was the problem. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to revisit Karigan back in Sacoridia, but it felt like the earlier entry in the series, “Mirror Sight” hung over my head at every page. And when Karigan couldn’t get over those events either, remembering Cade, I feel resentful that he, whom I could never force myself to like and didn’t understand how Karigan ever did, and that awful story line were ever introduced in the first place. After “Mirror Sight,” I became disenchanted with the entirety of the world and its characters. And I haven’t even touched the book since it first came out, but it still cast a shadow on everything else in Firebrand, including Karigan and Zachary’s forbidden attraction, and Karigan’s involvement with the gods, plus every man’s automatic development of feelings for her.
Karigan always loved King Zachary, and to see him having a somewhat successful marriage and love life with Estora, whom I actually liked, made me very annoyed and felt like a twist of the knife. I hated that Estora was so damn likable and pregnant with his children. It was a strange feeling to like a couple that amounts to adultery, especially when the wife, Estora, was so admirably determined to make her husband care for her. I liked that she felt stifled by her bed-orders from her pregnancy, and that she wasn’t going to give up her husband to his affections for Karigan without a fight. I definitely respected her when she rose to the challenges presented to her as both a queen and wife.
Spoiler
I was even proud that she recognized that the Ice Slee that masqueraded as Zachary, was not her husband, and couldn’t stand his sudden out-of-character smothering.And though I have liked other adulterous couples more than their married counterparts in the past, with King Arthur stories coming to mind, I was not able to freely cheer for Zachary and Karigan anymore. Perhaps some of Karigan’s guilt towards her friend Estora was so well-written that it rubbed off on me. Regardless, the moment I had waited for throughout the entire series finally happened—
Spoiler
Zachary and Karigan finally expressed their feelings for each other.It didn’t help anything that Karigan was constantly rehashing her feelings for Cade, even though she had lost most of her memories of him, which I had hoped meant that the entirety of that book would be practically erased from future novels, but I was wrong.
Spoiler
Visited by Eltetians? Why not remember Cade? Tortured half to death? Why not remember Cade? Finally get Zachary by your side while ill? Why not constantly mutter about Cade?Zachary and Karigan did finally admit their mutual feelings, but it didn’t feel like much of a victory for them to express their feelings for many reasons. First of all, the confession itself was a letdown, with Zachary repeating his affections Mr. Darcy-style “I once told you how I felt about. It was a couple of years ago atop the castle roof….My feelings have not changed since then, not even wavered. If anything, they have only grown,” and to which Karigan merely responded “I do too.” This was not exactly the grand or earth-shattering romantic moment for which I had hoped. Second of all, everything that subsequently happened between the two just felt like severe backpedaling from her earlier romance with Cade, and a contrived effort to reestablish Zachary as “the one” for Karigan. For instance, take this observation of the two from the Eltetian, Nari:
“The one whose song [Karigan heard] was Zachary’s. Nari could see the bond between them as a fusing of her living light with his….Zachary’s shown in a range of blues that revealed coolness and peace, but could easily give way to fire. Hers was an appropriate green….Her green, not surprisingly was also disposed to fire."
And finally, the other reason I couldn’t get on board the Zachary and Karigan this time around was that in order for her to actually be with him, Karigan would have to become his mistress. This was something I really didn’t want for her, but at the same time, sort of did. The only alternative for their relationship was for something bad to happen to Estora, and for Karigan to become Zachary's queen. That didn’t sit well with me either, for I liked Estora and didn’t *really* want anything bad happen to her, but it seemed like the best thing that could happen for Karigan and Zachary. And to top off this romantic dilemma, I was very frustrated that yet another person developed feelings for Karigan. Enough already!
Spoiler
Enver, an Eltetian, developed such severe feelings for Karigan, that he was a threat to her once he hit his “unfolding,” which is like a very intense form of puberty and mating/bonding for Eltetians.I wasn’t just irritated with the romantic aspects of the book, however. Karigan’s constant magnetism for the gods’s involvement, unrequited love, hero worship, and dangerous assignments started to taste a bit stale to me. And the character herself, as well as others, wondered why there was no one else that could fill her shoes in any of her roles. Were there really no other women or Green Riders in Sacor City? Did Karigan really have to be the Avatar of the god of death, Westrion; the first Swordsmaster in forever; and the only living honorary member of the Weapons ? In a sense, Karigan was so special that I no longer felt I could relate to her. Estora, in her place as first woman in the realm, but second in Zachary’s heart, suddenly felt more relatable to me than the heroine of the series!
And Karigan’s struggle all felt a little in vain, as she had already seen the dystopian future and lived in it, and saw what was coming if Morhaven the Black and the Second Empire weren’t defeated. I guess I would rather not have these clues from the dystopian future to guide the actions of the characters in present day Sacoridia. Instead, I’d rather they forged ahead on their own without any hints.
The book wasn’t all frustration and guilt though. It did have a large dose of Kristen Britain’s signature fun and quirkiness and I was happy to revisit the cast of characters, which felt like old friends. I enjoyed the superb
Spoiler
Mr. Whiskers, a gryphon in the guise of a cat, the arrival of Karigan’s hilariously nosy aunts and the discovery of Karigan’s middle name—which is somehow HELGADORF—the romance between her father and Captain Mapstone, and evil Grandmother finally getting her just desserts. But perhaps my favorite part in the entire book was when Zachary alone witnessed Karigan in her badass black suit of armor, riding Salvistar, the god Westrion’s mount.Even though I found this book to be somewhat disappointing from a romantic relationships standpoint, it was still very good. Upon completion, I found myself contemplating rereading the whole series. I have never understood why this very original series wasn’t more popular and on the same level as series such as Throne of Glass. I was very excited for the direction the next books would take, what with non-called Riders, mentions of Lord Amberhill, and what promised to bring new and unpredictable challenges for Karigan, her love life, her career with the Riders and Weapons, and the battle against the Second Empire.